Fundraiser for Kendra Mitchell!

Kendra was born in Colorado and grew up in Arizona where her parents still live today. After getting married and moving back to Denver in 2013 she began feeling that she wasn’t right, but sadly ignored it for months with all the normal excuses…”I’m tired, I need to drink more water, If I got more sleep”.  When her doctor said she needed a colonoscopy, Kendra realized she didn’t even know what that was! Colon cancer was the last thing she expected to hear in late 2014, but all things considered, Kendra had been one of the lucky ones.

She caught her cancer early, stage 1, and was able to remove it with surgery.  It was then that Kendra’s real cancer journey began. In the years since her diagnosis she has been working to get her health back and to make lifestyle changes to ensure she is healthy long into the future.  Early on in this journey, Kendra realized that giving back was also a huge part of her own healing. She began working with a local healthcare non-profit in Denver, helping communities across the state get affordable screenings.  Through her cancer center she was connected with the Denver Undy Run, a committee she co-chairs today. That brought her eventually to be a part of CCA’s Never Too Young advisory board.

Her goals as an advocate are to increase awareness of and screening for colorectal cancer and to specifically share her success story.  She found her cancer early and because of that was able to treat it and beat it! She hopes that sharing her personal story will give people hope that it is possible to win the fight against colorectal cancer.  She’s appeared on local television and social media outlets to advocate for early screening, as well as was the invited survivor speaker at the 2017 Denver UndyRun. She believes in the work that the Colorectal Cancer Alliance is doing and hopes that her voice will help further their mission.

Every year after cancer is still part of the journey, and this year that has taken Kendra through a series of procedures and treatments at Rocky Mountain Cancer Center and Rocky Mountain Gastro which costs thousands of dollars each time. The struggle to find what is causing her health decline has resulted in heavy financial costs and threatens to wipe out their hard earned savings to purchase their first home, which is why we are here to support our friend!

Even through her own struggles she still devotes most of her time to helping others, a point of strength that helps her make it through the days and true to Kendra from, she has decided that she’d like to donate 20% of the funds raised for her continued care to the Colorectal Cancer Alliance. If you know Kendra, this won’t surprise you. Kendra is the most caring, kind, loving, supportive, giving, and understanding person I have had the pleasure of knowing and your support would mean the world to me, and to her and Brian! 

Your time and consideration are much appreciated!